03Apr11

Defectors stiffen Libyan rebel defense of oil town

Libyan rebels put their best troops in to battle Muammar Gaddafi's forces for the eastern oil
town of Brega on Sunday while Western warplanes flew overhead and the sound of explosions
ripped through the air.

Libya's civil war is in danger of getting bogged down in a stalemate as neither Gaddafi's
troops, tanks and artillery, nor the chaotic rebel force is able to gain the upper hand, despite
Western air power effectively aiding the insurgents.

The rebels are, however, attempting to put their house in order, naming a "crisis team" with
the former interior minister as the armed forces chief of staff, to try to run parts of Libya it
holds and reorganising their military forces.

Outside Brega, better rebel discipline was already in evidence on Sunday with the less
disciplined volunteers, and journalists, kept several kilometers (miles) east of the front. The
insurgents have also deployed heavier weapons.

The sound of explosions and machinegun fire came from the town, a sparsely populated
settlement spread over more than 25 km (15 miles), as warplanes flew over, but it was not
clear if the jets had launched air strikes on Gaddafi's positions.

Without the backbone of regular forces, the lightly-armed volunteer caravan has spent days
dashing back and forth along the coast road on Brega's outskirts, scrambling away in their
pick-ups when Gaddafi's forces fire rockets at their positions.

The enthusiastic volunteers tend to get on well with the rebel army, made up of soldiers who
defected to the rebels, but a small scuffle broke out near Brega's eastern gate on Sunday as a
soldier berated them for their lack of discipline.

"These revolutionaries go in and fire and that's it. They don't have any tactics, these guys.
They cause problems," said the soldier, Mohammed Ali.

Rebels Reorganise

The rebels say they now are restructuring their forces to end the pendulum swing of their
euphoric advance in the wake of Western air strikes followed by headlong retreat in the face of
government artillery.

"We are reorganising our ranks. We have formed our first brigade. It is entirely formed from
ex-military defectors and people who've come back from retirement," Former Air Force Major
Jalid al-Libie told Reuters in Benghazi.

Asked about numbers, he said he could not reveal that, but added, "it's quality that matters."

The aim was for the trained force to steel resistance of the many volunteers so the rebel army
could hold ground.

"Before the end of the week you will see a different kind of fighting and that will tip the
balance," said Libie, a former fighter pilot.

The rebel leadership called for NATO-led air assault to continue despite 13 rebel fighters
being killed in a strike as they tried to take control of the eastern oil town of Brega.

NATO has conducted 363 sorties since taking over command of the Libya operations on
March 31, and about 150 were intended as strike missions, but NATO has not confirmed
hitting any targets.

A Reuters correspondent visiting the scene of the air strike saw burned-out vehicles, including
an ambulance, by the road near the eastern entrance to Brega. Men prayed at freshly dug
graves covered by the rebel red, black and green flag nearby.

Most blamed a Tripoli agent for drawing the "friendly fire."

But some gave a different account. "The rebels shot up in the air and the alliance came and
bombed them. We are the ones who made the mistake," said a fighter who did not give his
name.

A rebel spokesman, Mustafa Gheriani, told Reuters the leadership still wanted and needed
allied air strikes. "You have to look at the big picture. Mistakes will happen. We are trying to
get rid of Gaddafi and there will be casualties, although of course it does not make us happy."

While fighting in the east risks stalemate, in the west Gaddafi's forces are besieging the city of
Misrata, shelling a building that had been used to treat wounded, a resident said, killing one
person and wounding more.

Misrata, Libya's third city, rose up with other towns against Gaddafi's rule in mid-February,
but it is now surrounded by government troops after a violent crackdown put an end to
protests elsewhere in the west of the country.

Hundreds Killed

Doctors say hundreds have been killed in Misrata despite two weeks of Western airstrikes
meant stop the killing of civilians.

A doctor who gave his name as Ramadan told Reuters by telephone from the city that 160
people, mostly civilians, had been killed in fighting in Misrata over the past seven days.

Ramadan, a British-based doctor who said he arrived in Misrata three days ago on a
humanitarian mission, had no figure for the total toll since fighting began six weeks ago.

"But every week between 100 or 140 people are reported killed -- multiply this by six and our
estimates are 600 to 1,000 deaths since the fighting started," he said.

After weeks of shelling and encirclement, Gaddafi's forces appear to be gradually loosening
the rebels' hold on Misrata. Rebels say they still control the city center and the port, but
government troops have pushed into the center.

One Benghazi-based rebel said food supplies were acutely low in Misrata. "There are severe
food shortages and we call on humanitarian organizations to help," said the rebel called Sami,
who said he was in regular contact with a Misrata resident.

Some supplies are getting through the rebel-held port though, and a Turkish ferry, kitted out
as a hospital ship, evacuated 250 wounded along with 100 care workers from Misrata on
Sunday, Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency said.

The ship is bound for Benghazi, where a further 1OO patients were waiting to be picked up,
along with 30 Turkish and 40 foreign citizens, and brought back to Turkey, Anatolian said.
The ferry had to wait off Misrata for five days due to clashes.

Accounts from Misrata cannot be independently verified because Libyan authorities are not
allowing journalists to report freely from the city, 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli.

Gaddafi's troops are also mopping up resistance in the mountainous southwest of Tripoli.

Government forces shelled the small town of Yafran, southwest of the capital on Sunday,
killing two people, Arabiya television reported, quoting a witness.

They also shelled the city of Zintan, about 160 km (100 miles) south-west of the capital, a
resident said.

"Gaddafi's brigades bombarded Zintan with tanks in the early hours on Sunday. There has been
random bombardment of the northern area (of Zintan). They are still besieging the town," the
resident, called Abdulrahman, told Reuters.

[Source: By Alexander Dziadosz, Reuters, Brega, 03Apr11]

This document has been published on 03May11 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with
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